By Brian Bohl

An outdated arena hinders free-agent recruitment efforts. The NHL franchise needs to utilize the draft to forge a contender because ownership usually doesn’t acquire any high-priced stars. The team also plays in the Atlantic Division, the toughest in the Eastern Conference.

These three facts are applicable to the Islanders, a franchise that tries to scare its fan base into thinking that free agents won’t come because of the dilapidated Nassau Coliseum. But the Pittsburgh Penguins’ success singlehandedly negates all excuses Islanders’ management continues to feed its loyalists.

If the Nassau Coliseum is the league’s worst venue, Mellon Arena is right behind it. The Penguins’ home is even older than the Isles and just as outdated. When Ryan Smyth, Jason Blake, Tom Poti and Viktor Kozlov bolted out of Uniondale the day of free agency last summer, Islanders executives blamed the exodus on the Coliseum and its hindrance towards wooing free agents and thus helps explain why the team finished out of the playoffs this season.

Funny, an unattractive building didn’t stop Pittsburgh, who rolled into the conference finals following a five-game series win over the Rangers. Almost every key player on the Penguins came from the draft and player development. Unless owner Charles Wang starts pumping in funds to bring in the necessary impact free agents, the Islanders will need to follow the Pens model in order to compete.

After a woefully underperforming offense and a rash of injuries ended the Islanders season, team executives started talking about a youth movement that in reality only features one blue chip prospect (Kyle Okposo). Losing is tolerable if it is chalked up to young talent, even if the sentiment is not accurate.

Coach Ted Nolan mentioned during the season it’s tough to compete without any established stars, though pressure from management forced him to back off those comments by season’s end. Jeff Tambellini, Blake Comeau, and Jeremy Colliton combined for nine goals in 2007-08, proving a youth movement takes more than just calling up everyone from the AHL to be successful.

“We all may have a predetermined way of looking at something,” Wang said last month. “But what we should do after the season is look in the mirror and say, ‘What have I learned from this thing?’ I’m sure Teddy will say, ‘Boy, these kids are good. These kids add energy. These kids add a spark.’ He’s said that to me many times, as he’s said it to you and all the players many times. They are the future.”

Don’t believe the hype. There is only one newspaper in this market that covers the Islanders as a legitimate beat and it failed to challenge the corporate line about a youth movement. But this great list of supposed young talent consisted of Sean Bergenheim, who for all the talk about upside registered a measly 22 points in 78 games. Six years ago, Bergenheim was a first round pick. He’s already played all of parts of three NHL seasons, taking the luster off his prospect status.

In back-to-back years (2004-2005), the Penguins drafted perennial All-Stars and game-changers Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. The opening round pick in 2003 netted goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and the first pick in 2005 brought defenseman Ryan Whitney into the fold. Four first round picks led to four impact players who form the core of a potential dynasty.

Over the past 10 years, the Islanders have enjoyed as many high draft picks as the Penguins. With the exception of Rick DiPietro’s ridiculous 15-year guaranteed deal, the last huge contract the Isles doled out went to Alexei Yashin in one of the more disastrous moves in club history. So if stars aren’t being signed, they need to be developed.

Instead of getting a Malkin or a Crosby, the Islanders have consistently wasted top 10 picks. In 1998, Michael Rupp was selected over the likes of Simon Gagne, who terrorizes the Isles yearly and is a two-time 40 goal scorer for the Flyers. The following year, the franchise had three of the first top 10 selections. Needless to say, none became a franchise player (Tim Connolly, Taylor Pyatt and Branslav Mezei).

Crosby and Fleury were both No. 1 overall picks. It’s rare for any franchise to have that high of a pick in so few years. When the turn comes, an organization cannot make a mistake or else it will be set back many more years.

The Islanders didn’t make a blunder in 2000 in taking DiPietro first. They just settled when the potential was there for more: a trend that continues to this day. Shutdown goalie Roberto Luongo was already on the roster before DiPietro was available, meaning the Isles could have picked Dany Heatley, who owns two 50-goal seasons and two additional 40-goal seasons to his credit.

It’s easy to look back at drafts and find mistakes. But the point is not that the Islanders should have made different picks in every circumstance. It’s just to show that the next time Wang or general manager Garth Snow or any other executive uses lack of resources or a bad building as an excuse for failure, the Penguins are built to win for now and years to come with the same limitations.

Pittsburgh underwent a legitimate youth movement, not the kind that encompasses signing free agents out of college and playing them the final five games and proclaiming them part of the future to deaden the hurt of a lost season. When Charles Wang tells you the Nassau Coliseum sends All-Stars running for the hills in free agency, keep in mind the entire executive staff is trying to railroad his $2 billion Lighthouse project through.

This land-grab would encompass building hundreds of hotel rooms, more than 2,000 apartments and millions of square feet of convention, office and retail space. It also would include plans for a renovated Coliseum. So what better way to get support for his revenue-generating proposal then telling loyal fans, “the building is the reason why we can’t win.”

Don’t be fooled. Wang, like any other astute businessman, isn’t involved in a billion dollar deal because he loves his community or puts a Stanley Cup championship team above all else. He’s interested in making money, with the Isles’ success a nice residual benefit.

A crapped facility didn’t keep the Isles out of the playoffs. It didn’t stop the Penguins. In the end, it comes down to drafting and developing players. Here’s hoping they make the right pick in this June’s draft.